PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 15 Rutgers wrestling (14-5, 3-5) downed Maryland (5-12, 0-8), 31-13, on Saturday afternoon at Jersey Mike's Arena. In front of 3,113 fans and a national audience on Big Ten Network, the Scarlet Knights worked a seven-three match split with the Terrapins in their final Big Ten dual of the season.
RU picked up bonus points in five bouts, which included a fall from No. 12
Greg Bulsak (197), tech falls from No. 3
Sebastian Rivera (141), No. 28
Dylan Shawver (125) and
Andrew Clark (165), and a major decision from
Robert Kanniard (157). No. 15
Michael VanBrill (149) and
Boone McDermott (HWT) added decisions, with McDermott's 3-1 win coming over Zach Schrader, who holds a spot in the NCAA coaches ranking.
The win marked the 197th of head coach
Scott Goodale's 15-year career, the program's all-time leader in that category.
- "That was a good Big Ten win for us, and we'll get back to the drawing board Monday to prepare for Princeton, which is obviously a big match." - head coach Scott Goodale
- Shawver worked to two four-point tilts in the first period against Tommy Capul for an early 10-0 lead and added six points in the second period for his second tech fall of the season.
- Devon Britton (133) got the nod against King Sandoval and lost by fall, but Rivera followed to keep Maryland's team lead brief. Rivera picked up six takedowns in the first period on Danny Bertoni, added five points in the second and closed his bout with a four-point tilt for the 20-3 final. His nation-leading 12th tech of the season put Rutgers up 10-6 through the first three matches of the day.
- Rutgers closed the first half with wins from VanBrill and Kannaird. VanBrill outworked Michael North with more than four minutes of riding time en route to a 6-0 decision. Kanniard controlled his match with Conner Decker throughout, as his four-point tilt in the second period highlighted a 13-1 major decision. The win was Kanniard's fifth consecutive, as Rutgers took a 17-6 lead into intermission.
- Clark added his third consecutive win with a 16-0 tech fall over Gaven Bell, as he collected eight near-fall points in the first period alone.
- Rutgers dropped matchups at 174 and 184 pounds, as No. 8 John Poznanski lost to No. 16 Kyle Cochran. The result made it 22-13 RU, but the Scarlet Knights closed the dual with back-to-back wins.
- Bulsak faced Chase Mielnik and pinned his opponent in the first three minutes. McDermott added a 3-1 decision over Schrader – who entered Saturday No. 33 in the second coaches rank of the season – in the final 10 seconds of his match.
- Rutgers closes the dual season with back-to-back home duals with No. 19 Princeton (Friday, Feb. 18) and Columbia (Saturday, Feb. 19).
No. 15 Rutgers 31, Maryland 13
125: 28/HM/NR
Dylan Shawver (RU) TF Tommy Capul (UMD), 16-0 (4:25); RU leads, 5-0
133: King Sandoval (UMD) fall (0:59)
Devon Britton (RU); UMD leads, 6-5
141: 3/3/3
Sebastian Rivera (RU) TF Danny Bertoni (UMD) 20-3 (6:02); RU leads, 10-6
149: 15/14/16
Michael VanBrill (RU) dec. Michael North (UMD), 6-0; RU leads, 13-6
157: Robert Kanniard (RU) MD Conner Decker (UMD), 13-1; RU leads, 17-6
165: Andrew Clark (RU) TF Gaven Bell (UMD), 16-0; RU leads, 22-6
174: Dom Solis (UMD) MD
Connor O'Neill (RU), 10-1; RU leads, 22-10
184: 16/19/16 Kyle Cochran dec. 8/8/8
John Poznanski (RU), 9-4; RU leads, 22-13
197: 12/10/12
Greg Bulsak (RU) fall (2:11) Chase Mielnik (UMD); RU leads, 28-13
HWT: Boone McDermott (RU) dec. Zach Schrader (UMD), 3-1; RU wins, 31-13
Extra Matches
157: Al DeSantis (RU) dec. Lucas Cordio (UMD), 15-8
